I'm an intern and I misdiagnosed a patient. No one has criticized me for it, but i wish someone had. I wish i could apologize to her family...
A woman in her 70s that i saw in the ER. She presented with progressive shortness of breath, confusion and urinary incontinence. No other symtoms. No chest pain. No conclusive findings on physical. Her ECG and Troponin was normal, but her CRP was sky high. So i assumed she had pneumonia and admitted her with iv antibiotics.
She crashed a few days later and they found out she had an aortic dissection.
The CRP was the source of my premature closure. I assumed that it couldnt be anything other than an infection. I should have suspected a PE or something since she didnt have a lot of symtoms of an infection. I should have ordered a CT and then she might have lived.
This happened more than a year ago and i still think about it every day.
I want to quit medicine. This profession feels cursed. I can't seem to find any meaning in my work any more.